Me want music

Both my parents have been musicians for most of their adult lives and freaked out when they found me downloading free music from Napster in seventh grade. 

"You should always pay for music. Think of the starving artists!!!" 

I'm not sure if I actually responded with this, but I would now: "What about the overwhelming percentage of profits that go to big, corporate record labels?" Plus, there are ways to get around the piracy issue, at least if you're Radiohead. 

After its EMI/Capitol contract expired with the release of its last album in 2003, Radiohead, the most infamous of infamous bands, ditched the label and made its latest album In Rainbows available for however much users were willing to pay for it (as little as 45 pence, the shipping and handling fee). 

The article linked above points out many advantages to this business model, even if users choose to download the album for free. For example, Prince distributed copies of his latest albums in a newspaper and subsequently sold out 21 shows.   

And while it's easy to say, as in the Wired article, 'Fuck the Industry,' I also have the concern my parents instilled in me about trying to find a business model that drives as much of the profit towards the artist as possible. Radiohead's business model appears to be the most effective, seeing as how even users who don't choose to pay for the album are required to register their information and can therefore be targeted for later marketing campaigns or ads. 

I think this quote from the above linked article says it all:

"Radiohead are clearly trying to build an independent business model that suits their needs. Unless record company giants wake up and find a model that delivers real value to artists, technology will continue to bypass the record companies, and in comparison piracy will seem a relatively small problem."